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Shoigu also reminded how Russia has always opposed NATO countries' military presence“on our historical territory” even before the special operation [Ukraine invasion] and is waging it in part to remove such influence.

That's why he warned that Western countries' efforts to deploy troops to Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers but for the actual purpose of controlling its resources and keeping its extremist anti-Russian government in power, could lead to World War III and should thus not be attempted.

3. NATO continues to pose a very serious threat to Russia

According to Shoigu,“Over the past year, the number of military contingents of NATO countries deployed near the western borders of the Russian Federation has increased almost 2.5 times”, and the bloc has already practiced deploying 100,000 more troops there within 30 days in the event of a crisis.

Moreover,“The EU leadership is seeking to transform the EU into a military organization aimed against Russia” through its 800 billion euro“ReArm Europe Plan”, which essentially turns it into an appendage of NATO.

4. Strategic arms control remains among Russia's priorities

Shoigu said that Russia wants to negotiate another strategic arms control pact with the US but this will be more difficult to achieve than before. That's because the spectrum of interests now includes NATO expansion, missile defense, the deployment of ground-based short- and intermediate-range missiles, and the need for France and the UK to participate.

He left open the possibility, though, of withdrawing the Oreshniks from Belarus if the US abandons its missile plans in Germany and NATO threats decrease .

5. Inter-organizational cooperation is the key to Eurasian Security

The last top takeaway from Shoigu's interview is that he emphasized the importance of inter-organizational cooperation for ensuring security in Eurasia. He mentioned how the CIS, CSTO, EAEU, and SCO are working together on this and invited the EU to participate as well.